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Hyderabad's HeartbeatSat, 17 Feb 2018 17:49:00 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4http://www.hydnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/cropped-hyd-news-32x32.jpgHyderabad News Networkhttp://www.hydnews.net
3232Pharma Scenario: Has The ‘End Game’ Started For ‘Fortis Singh Brothers’?http://www.hydnews.net/pharma-scenario-end-game-started-fortis-singh-brothers/
http://www.hydnews.net/pharma-scenario-end-game-started-fortis-singh-brothers/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 17:48:23 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6763This past week was an action packed one for pharma and healthcare sectors, with events at Fortis Healthcare and the government slashing ceiling prices of coronary stents hoarding the headlines. Investors of Fortis had to sit through a roller coaster ride as the company’s stock reacted sharply to the news flow. The troubles for the […]

]]>This past week was an action packed one for pharma and healthcare sectors, with events at Fortis Healthcare and the government slashing ceiling prices of coronary stents hoarding the headlines.

Investors of Fortis had to sit through a roller coaster ride as the company’s stock reacted sharply to the news flow.

The troubles for the company and its embattled promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, referred to as the Singh brothers, have got more complicated. Media headlines have called it the beginning of the “endgame” for the billionaire brothers.

To be sure, the Singh brothers have indicated that they are not ones to take it on the chin and move on.

“We would now like to fight for our justice and pride at this point and not for economics only,” said a statement by RHC Holding Pvt. Ltd, the holding company promoted by the brothers, after the Supreme Court dismissed their plea challenging Delhi High Court’s order allowing Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo to enforce a foreign arbitration award of Rs 3,500 crore.

Much to the chagrin of the Singh brothers, the apex court even declined to interfere in the case.

After the Supreme Court’s latest order, the Singh brothers have now exhausted almost all their legal options in India to block the enforcement of the arbitration award.

The brothers have said they will appeal against the arbitration award in Singapore courts as they still believe they have been wronged in the majority Singapore arbitration award. The case has already hurt and crippled the entire group.

The past week for Fortis started on a bad note with credit rating firm ICRA downgrading loans worth Rs 1,170 crore. Taking a cue from ICRA, Care Ratings too lowered Fortis’ ratings on loans worth Rs 853 crore. Both the firms have expressed concerns over the company’s liquidity position after a disclosure about advances of Rs 473 crore extended to the Singh brothers.

Both firms said they are closely monitoring the developments at Fortis.

Fortis’ board, which met on Tuesday, sought an extension of 15 days to declare second and third quarter results of FY18 as the statutory auditors informed the company that the audit process may not be complete before the stipulated date of the board meeting.

Fortis also announced that the company signed a definitive agreement to acquire assets of Singapore-listed RHT Health Trust for Rs 4,650 crore, which includes Rs 1,152 crore of debt that will be repaid.

The lenders to Fortis got some relief after the Supreme Court lifted the stay on sale of pledged shares held by Fortis promoters.

The order allows lenders to sell shares pledged by the Singh brothers and recover their dues. To be sure, all the moves indicate that Singh brothers have been on the lookout for a strategic buyer for Fortis.

The Singh brothers have also announced that they stepped down from Religare Enterprises’ board this week.

Other news that made the front pages was the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s decision to further cut ceiling prices of the most commonly used drug-eluting stent (DES) by 5.8 percent, as it pursues the policy of price controls on coronary stents citing larger public interest.

After the latest revision, the price of DES, a product that constitutes 95 percent of the market, is now capped at Rs 27,890.

The government raised ceiling price of bare metal stents (BMS) by 5.5 percent to Rs 7,660.

Both prices were excluding GST. The government charges 5 percent GST on stents. #KhabarLive

]]>http://www.hydnews.net/pharma-scenario-end-game-started-fortis-singh-brothers/feed/0The ‘Fall-Out’ And ‘Decline’ Of All India Muslim Personal Law Boardhttp://www.hydnews.net/steep-fall-decline-india-muslim-personal-law-board/
http://www.hydnews.net/steep-fall-decline-india-muslim-personal-law-board/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 17:05:44 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6758It is disgusting to see the Hyderabad MP and Majlis–e–Ittehad-ul Muslimeen Chief Asaduddin Owaisi stooping to such a low for deriding and degrading Maulana Salman Nadvi publicly who may unwittingly has fallen into the trap of RSS on the Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir issue. Being one of the prominent members of the Board, Owaisi […]

]]>It is disgusting to see the Hyderabad MP and Majlis–e–Ittehad-ul Muslimeen Chief Asaduddin Owaisi stooping to such a low for deriding and degrading Maulana Salman Nadvi publicly who may unwittingly has fallen into the trap of RSS on the Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir issue.

Being one of the prominent members of the Board, Owaisi did not show any decency and gracefulness while demonizing Maulana Nadvi in the public meeting organized by the All India Muslim Personal Board in Hyderabad.

Maulana Nadvi’s self-styled attempt to solve the Ayodhya dispute with the help of controversial and self-appointed Godman Ravi Shankar who has been guilty of not complying the NGT order, has invited wrath from Muslim community. However, it does not mean one can call him names or level wild allegations on him simply because he had a different opinion on certain issue.

Despite being the member of the Board, Maulana Nadvi broke the ranks on the Babri Masjid issue, he deserves reprimand but not invectives.

No doubt, Maulana Nadvi’s meeting with Ravi Shankar was an imprudent and untimely act but the reactions of some Board members were more disgraceful that needs to be equally condemned.

In fact, Maulana Nadvi shouldn’t have met with a person like Ravi Shankar who was in no way related to the Babri Masjid case, also known as ‘Sri Sri’ , a self-styled Hindu guru who never spoke a single word against the killing of Muslims by the so-called Gau Rakshaks across the country under Modi govt. Although he he sports white- robes but he is deeply Saffron from inside

It would have been better had the Board ignored Maulana’s meeting with Ravi Shankar considering it as an ‘individual’ act .

The meeting of Maulana Nadvi like other Ulemas and Muslim leaders meetings with Sri Sri cannot be considered as an official step of the Board.

The better course might have been for the Board to reject such meetings and issue a clarification of disassociation from such efforts.

There was no need of taking any punitive action and insulting Maulana in public if he had a voice of dissent and had a different stand against the general view of the Board because any democratic setup provides a platform for airing dissent and diverse views while the Board is also such a platform. The other members of the Board should have downplayed the issues staying away from giving public counters and rejoinders.

The sweeping allegations made by Owaisi against Maulana Nadvi in the public meeting of Board is highly condemnable. Some members of the Board had also met Ravi Shankar earlier on the same issue and given a statement opposite to the stand of the Board. One can ask, why no action had been taken against them?

What about those Board members who are politicians and loyal to the Congress which is the main culprit of the demolition of Babri Masjid? Owaisi’s father was himself a Congress supporter and a close friend of the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao when the Masjid was demolished . Many people are of the view that ‘Salar-e- Millat“ had struck a deal with Congress”. According to that deal, Rao provided a piece of land to late Salahuddin Owaisi at a prime location in Hyderabad. The Salar e Millat had to give clarification several times regarding that ‘alligation’. Owaisi and his MIM were also with the Congress until a few years back.

Would the Board take action against all those who had a different view? Would the Board take action against Asaduddin Owaisi who made the hateful remark against Salman Nadvi in public? Will the allegation made by Owaisi against Maulana Salman be considered as an official statement of Board? All these questions need answers from the Board office-bearers.

Whether Maulana Salman Nadvi is acting at the behest of BJP, it is yet to be confirmed but one thing could be said with certainty that the politics of Owaisi is strengthening BJP steadily. Owaisi communalises even general issue like Demonetization by saying that ‘Muslims are the worst sufferers due to Demonetization’ and this only suits BJP .

Dialogue as a channel in a democracy to solve the disputes may never be ruled out. So any proposition for dialogue with the parties that are relevant in Babri Masjid dispute could be engaged in seeking a solution to the satisfaction of both parties.

As the ground reports of Ayodhya indicate that a sizable population prefers the simultaneous construction of Temple and Masjid side by side. Therefore, if the dispute is left to the local population while asking outsiders, be it political or religious leaders, to remain aloof from the issue the residents of Ayodhaya can find a best solution.

There is a ray of hope in mutual cooperation because ‘the court’ judgment in favor of any party may not lead to a lasting solution. The defeated party may resort to further agitation and communal polarization for the purpose of vote-bank, so it is necessary for the Board to reassures the country that if it wins the case it would thereafter enter into a dialogue with the originally contesting parties to assuage and respect the feelings in the larger interest of the country.

The Board members who are overconfident about the verdict on Babri Masjid case in their favor should rethink twice, least they have to regret on the day of Apex court verdict and say ‘we should have considered the options outside the court to get a respectable solution’.

]]>http://www.hydnews.net/steep-fall-decline-india-muslim-personal-law-board/feed/0‘Jamiat Ulama And Muslim Board Will Be Responsible, If Situation Worsens’, Mulana Salman Nadvi Warnshttp://www.hydnews.net/jamiat-ulama-muslim-board-will-responsible-situation-worsens-mulana-salman-nadvi-warns/
http://www.hydnews.net/jamiat-ulama-muslim-board-will-responsible-situation-worsens-mulana-salman-nadvi-warns/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 17:03:40 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6755Maulana Salman Nadvi, who has a separate stand from the Muslim Personal Law Boards on Babri Masjid issue, has sent a two-page written announcement to media in which he has reaffirmed his stand on Babri Masjid issue opposite to Jamiat Ulama and the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board. ‘If the situation of the country worsens […]

]]>Maulana Salman Nadvi, who has a separate stand from the Muslim Personal Law Boards on Babri Masjid issue, has sent a two-page written announcement to media in which he has reaffirmed his stand on Babri Masjid issue opposite to Jamiat Ulama and the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board.

‘If the situation of the country worsens Jamiat e Ulemas and Muslim Personal Boards will be responsible that’ he wrote .

He has thanked to media which gave space to his stand on Babri Masjid issue.

In his written declaration he said “My point is that there should be the brotherhood among Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians in the country; all the religious communities should acknowledge that all are the sons of the Lord. Hence the people should settle down their dispute inside the house, instead of appealing in the courts as it reflects the hatred between both the community and their inability to reconcile”.

Maulana Nadvi holds Britishers and now Congress party responsible for creating the bridge between both the communities.

‘After several attempts by Hazrat Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Ali Hussaini, to solve the dispute of Babri Masjid the Masjid was finally demolished and the innocent Muslims faced severe bloodshed throughout the country. Now, again the conditions are serious. We have done our efforts on a reconciliation formula for five months, which will continue and to seek out the resolution of the dispute outside the court’ he added.

Showing his disagreement with the Muslim Board and Jamiatul Ulama’ stand on the issue to wait for the final verdict, he said the contact between the parties involved should continue.

He further added that “I am saying that Hindu Muslim unity must be maintained, and the meetings should continue, but we are waiting for March 14th the courts next hearing date. I am appealing to the Chief Justice of India to issue a verdict in the month of March and conduct day to day hearing of the case.

Twenty five years had passed, many litigants have left the world, please let the court release your verdict as soon as possible, no matter whether the decision comes in favor of the Muslim Personal Law and Jamiat al-Ulema, I would be happy if there will be a mosque, how good it will be to fulfil the wishes of those elders, hence our united efforts will continue for peace and brotherhood to prevail. #KhabarLive

]]>http://www.hydnews.net/%e0%b0%92%e0%b0%95%e0%b1%8d%e0%b0%95%e0%b0%b8%e0%b0%be%e0%b0%b0%e0%b0%bf%e0%b0%97%e0%b0%be-%e0%b0%aa%e0%b0%a1%e0%b0%bf%e0%b0%aa%e0%b1%8b%e0%b0%af%e0%b0%bf%e0%b0%a8-%e0%b0%ac%e0%b0%82%e0%b0%97%e0%b0%be/feed/0Pawan’s JFC Declaration: ‘Special Category Status Is Better Than Special Package’http://www.hydnews.net/pawans-jfc-declaration-special-category-status-better-special-package/
http://www.hydnews.net/pawans-jfc-declaration-special-category-status-better-special-package/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 15:01:39 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6746The Joint Facts Finding Committee (JFC) constituted by Pawan Kalyan comprising several intellectuals, veterans is expected to submit its final report in a couple of days. The report is expected in some two days, commented Undavalli Arun Kumar who is a key member of the JFC. Commenting on the developments, Undavalli opined that the JFC […]

]]>The Joint Facts Finding Committee (JFC) constituted by Pawan Kalyan comprising several intellectuals, veterans is expected to submit its final report in a couple of days. The report is expected in some two days, commented Undavalli Arun Kumar who is a key member of the JFC.

Commenting on the developments, Undavalli opined that the JFC is weighing various options in order to see which benefits the cash-strapped Andhra Pradesh which lost its capital to the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh. Undavalli felt that the Special Category Status may benefit AP more. And JFC would announce its final result in two days.

Many in the JFC Committee apparently opined that one can’t put a “number” to ‘in lieu of” the proposed Special Category Status as the amount of benefits that comes with the SCS could not be assessed since it depends on the functioning of the state government and how well one government could make use of it by attracting many investors, companies.

It needs to be seen how the TDP and BJP would respond once the JFC report comes out as both the key parties are favouring a Financial Package instead of the Special Category Status to the AP. Amidst this, the JFC report becomes crucial.

Meanwhile, the JFC’s first major achievements include the appointment of two senior IAS officers from the State Government to assess the Centre’s funds and the revealing of the accounts to the JFC. #KhabarLive

]]>Priya Prakash Varrier, who got overnight fame with a music video from her debut Malayalam film Oru Adaar Love which went onto go viral online, has surprised to receive compliments from Stylish Star Allu Arjun.

Talking to a TV channel, Priya Prakash Warrier and her co-artiste in the film stated that they were on cloud nine to receive compliments from Allu Arjun. Allu Arjun had took to Twitter to compliment the video where he described as the cutest video and said that it is the power of simplicity.

Also popularly called as Mallu Arjun, Stylish Star has humongous fan base in Kerala. It is once again proved that how Bunny has influence over Malayalam movie lovers and it includes internet sensation Priya Prakash Varrier.

For starters, Priya shot to fame with a 28-second video clip trailer for a song in her debut Malayalam film, Oru Adaar Love, in one scene of which she winks flirtatiously, After the video clip went viral, the song was published on YouTube on 9 February and had received over 28 million hits till date.

The song Manikya Malaraya Poovi became one of the most watched videos on You Tube in the recent times. Priya became one of the most searched-for Indian people on Google for a period of a few hours.

]]>http://www.hydnews.net/tollywood-superstar-allu-arjun-winks-celebrity-wink-girl-priya-prakash-varrier/feed/0Agricultural Focus Must Shift To Environmentally Sustainable Cropshttp://www.hydnews.net/agricultural-focus-must-shift-environmentally-sustainable-crops/
http://www.hydnews.net/agricultural-focus-must-shift-environmentally-sustainable-crops/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 14:39:10 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6740Depleting water tables due to excessive use of ground water is a major concern vis-à-vis the sustainability of farming in India. “India’s agri-exports potential is as high as $100 billion against current exports of $ 30 billion”, said finance minister Arun Jaitley in this year’s budget speech. He also said that the government will further […]

]]>Depleting water tables due to excessive use of ground water is a major concern vis-à-vis the sustainability of farming in India.

“India’s agri-exports potential is as high as $100 billion against current exports of $ 30 billion”, said finance minister Arun Jaitley in this year’s budget speech. He also said that the government will further liberalise agricultural exports to achieve this potential. Most people will welcome such statements.

Exports can be a big opportunity to enhance farm incomes in India. India’s agricultural trade regime is often accused of having a pro-consumer bias. When prices increase, export restrictions and lower import duties are used to control inflation. Domestic consumers gain but the farmer loses out on gaining from these cyclical movements. There is no bailout for the farmer when prices crash in domestic markets.

There are good reasons why a liberalised export push in agriculture might not be an unambiguous good. These are related with issues of long-term sustainability in agriculture and domestic food security concerns.

What is the biggest component of India’s agricultural exports? Spices, tea, cotton etc.all come to mind. The correct answer, however, is rice. Between 2006-07 and 2016-17, rice alone accounted for around 17% of the total value of India’s agricultural exports. More than half of our rice exports are of the basmati variety. Many farmers and exporters must have gained from the sharp rise in India’s rice exports.

These exports, however, entail a huge cost for the environment. Rice production uses a lot of water. In a 2016 Mint article, I used data from the Water Footprint Network – a global network on water related issues – to estimate that 10 trillion litres of water went into the production of India’s basmati exports in 2014-15. The story also pointed out that India was among the largest virtual exporters of water via agricultural exports.

Depleting water tables due to excessive use of ground water is a major concern vis-à-vis the sustainability of farming in India. Exporting more and more basmati rice without thinking of its environmental repercussions is not going to help matters. It would only hasten the destruction of agricultural ecosystems. #KhabarLive

]]>http://www.hydnews.net/agricultural-focus-must-shift-environmentally-sustainable-crops/feed/0Ruptured Throat, Loss Of Voice: Doctors Warn Against Stifling A Sneezehttp://www.hydnews.net/ruptured-throat-loss-voice-doctors-warn-stifling-sneeze/
http://www.hydnews.net/ruptured-throat-loss-voice-doctors-warn-stifling-sneeze/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 14:35:31 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6737Doctors say the whole point of sneezing is to get something out of your body, like viruses and bacteria, so if you stop that, those may end up in the wrong part of the body. Tempted to stifle a loud or untimely sneeze? Let it out instead, doctors in England warned Monday based on the […]

]]>Doctors say the whole point of sneezing is to get something out of your body, like viruses and bacteria, so if you stop that, those may end up in the wrong part of the body.

Tempted to stifle a loud or untimely sneeze? Let it out instead, doctors in England warned Monday based on the very unusual case of a man who ruptured the back of his throat when he tried to suppress a sneeze.

In a case study published in the journal BMJ Case Reports, doctors described their initial confusion when the previously healthy man turned up in the emergency room of a Leicester hospital, complaining of swallowing difficulties and “a popping sensation” in his swollen neck.

The 34-year-old patient told them his problems started after he tried to stop a forceful sneeze by pinching his nose and closing his mouth. He eventually lost his voice and spent a week in the hospital.

“When you sneeze, air comes out of you at about 150 miles per hour,” said Dr. Anthony Aymat, director for ear, nose and throat services at London’s University Hospital Lewisham, who was not involved in the case. “If you retain all that pressure, it could do a lot of damage and you could end up like the Michelin Man with air trapped in your body.”

While examining the sneeze-averse patient, doctors in Leicester heard “crackling in the neck” down to his ribcage, a sign that air bubbles had seeped into his chest. Worried about infection and other possible complications, they admitted him to the hospital, gave him a feeding tube and administered antibiotics, according to details published in BMJ Case Reports.

Dr. Zi Yang Jiang, a head and neck surgeon at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, said he sees one or two cases arising from repressed sneezes each year, making them an “exceedingly rare” occurrence.

Jiang said it was bizarre that a single sneeze could generate enough force to cause the kind of physical damage that usually results from trauma, such as a gunshot wound to the neck. A collapsed lung is among the problems that retaining the air from an imminent sneeze can cause, he said.

“The whole point of sneezing is to get something out of your body, like viruses and bacteria, so if you stop that, those may end up in the wrong part of the body,” he said. Jiang said in most cases, the excess air is later absorbed by the body.

The English patient made a full recovery and was advised to avoid plugging his nose while sneezing in the future. Doctors recommend letting sneezes rip into a tissue instead.

“The safest thing to do — although it’s not socially acceptable — is just to sneeze loud,” Aymat said. #KhabarLive

]]>http://www.hydnews.net/ruptured-throat-loss-voice-doctors-warn-stifling-sneeze/feed/0The ‘Nirav Modi Issue’ Is Just The Tip Of The ‘Banking Crisis’ Iceberghttp://www.hydnews.net/nirav-modi-issue-just-tip-banking-crisis-iceberg/
http://www.hydnews.net/nirav-modi-issue-just-tip-banking-crisis-iceberg/#respondSat, 17 Feb 2018 14:23:32 +0000http://www.hydnews.net/?p=6734The inability to tackle bad loans more urgently has weakened banks to an extent that they have been unable to lend on the one hand while the government has had to use tax payer money for a bailout on the other. This has been a bad week for Indian bankers. The State Bank of India […]

]]>The inability to tackle bad loans more urgently has weakened banks to an extent that they have been unable to lend on the one hand while the government has had to use tax payer money for a bailout on the other.

This has been a bad week for Indian bankers. The State Bank of India announced its first quarterly loss in nearly two decades after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forced it to recognise more bad loans even as the value of the bonds it owns tumbled. Bank of Baroda has decided to exit South Africa soon after revelations of how some of its lending there went to the controversial Gupta family that is close to discredited former South Africa president Jacob Zuma. Punjab National Bank has claimed that it has been allegedly defrauded by diamond merchant Nirav Modi with the connivance of a few bank employees.

Each of these cases, to be sure, is different from one another, and thus not directly comparable. The underlying reasons range from lending decisions that backfired to outright fraud, or from credit risk to operational risk, if one were to use the more anodyne language of the banking community. Yet, these three recent cases are part of a wider banking crisis that seems to deepen with every passing quarter.

Bank boards have maintained radio silence over the past few years. Their failure to seek explanations on behalf of the shareholders they are supposed to represent comes at a time when there are so many vacuous homilies delivered to the general public about the need for better corporate governance.

The silence has come at a cost. The inability to tackle bad loans more urgently has weakened banks to an extent that they have been unable to lend on the one hand while the government has had to use taxpayer money for a bailout on the other. Meanwhile, the apex Bank Boards Bureau set up in 2016 with much fanfare has so far been a paper tiger.

The recent activism of the RBI — be it in terms of goading banks to reveal the true extent of their soured loans or forcing them to take influential defaulters to the new bankruptcy courts — has upset purists who argue that a regulator should be setting the broad rules of the game rather than interfering in operational matters. The harsh fact is that the RBI has had to step in because the bank boards have not been doing their job.

The boards of private sector banks, especially the audit committees, have not done their job of speaking up either, even after the RBI auditors pointed to divergence between their assessment of the extent of bad loans and the reported numbers in the books of ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and Axis Bank. The ongoing banking crisis is at a deeper level a crisis of corporate governance — and the failure of bank boards to ask the tough questions to senior executives deserves more attention. @KhabarLive